In many instances, products are displayed in store aisles (or at the ends of store aisle) by display units. The display units are typically provided according to the product manufacturer's dimensions, e.g., a 3-sided unit with four tiers per side, etc. Additionally, many retail locations have specific dimensions that display units must meet, e.g., length cannot exceed 54 inches and unit can only be so many feet high, etc.
One challenge that is often encountered when designing and building customized display units for product manufacturers is that different dimensions, requirements, and materials are involved, some requiring special ordering, which can make it time consuming and expensive to build custom units that meet individual specifications. For example, some display units will be used to display heavy items, such as bottles of suntan lotion or bleach, which require relatively sturdy shelves, whereas other units may be used to display paper products or t-shirts, which can use much lighter shelves. In addition, some display units will need to be larger than others, due to the intended placement in the retail location or the size or volume of the items to be displayed.
Nonetheless, it is still desirable for the product manufacturer to be able to specify how a particular product is to be displayed. Marketing studies are performed to determine the most effective way to display products and where their display (e.g., at what location in the retail store) is most effective for increased sales, and product manufacturers need to be able to take advantage of that information and continue to design their displays accordingly.
Because of these desired customized design requirements, it would be useful for packaging companies to be able to manufacture display pallets out of materials that are already commonly maintained in stock to lower costs and reduce special ordering time.
Another challenge faced in designing effective display units is getting the product appropriately loaded. Typically, a product manufacturer ships product to a display unit manufacturer, who designs a display unit from the ground-up, including display trays or other methods of displaying the product on a shelf or an individual display unit. It is, however, desirable to provide an adjustable pallet that will allow the display unit manufacturer to build an adjustable display pallet to fit trays that have already been manufactured and that are not being displayed on store shelves due to inventory and space constraints. This way, the pre-existing tray can be loaded with product, loaded on an adjustable pallet, and shipped, alleviating the need to rebuild an entirely new tray and display unit design. It is also desirable to provide the pallet in a form that will allow portions of the product to be removed from the pallet once inventory is low and be displayed on store shelves, or vice versa.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a way to continue to provide a customized design for a display unit, but maintain cost effectiveness and high efficiency. It is also desirable to provide the display unit on a pallet that can be shipped for immediate display. It is further desirable to provide an adjustable design for a pallet, allowing the display pallet to be built quickly from parts commonly kept in inventory.